I have been looking for a job and getting discouraged because every posted job seems to require 2+ years of experience. I have a B.A. in political science but I had to work full time throughout college so I didn't get to volunteer or be a part of student organizations.

I think I must be just not looking for the right kind of job or in the right place. Are there any tips from people in the same situation?

Apply to every job you see, even if you don't have the 2 years experience. Part of applying to jobs is not just the quality of your resume, cover letter and experience, but the quantity of applications you put out. Start volunteering for an organization you care about a few hours a week. It will do wonders and is a great networking opportunity.

Sometimes 2+ years of experience can be substituted with education so I would apply anyway. It can't hurt. Also, while you are looking, start volunteering. If you can volunteer a couple hours a week it will look good on your resume and could give you some great references.

It is hard out there for everyone. I imagine you are looking in the right place it's just not that easy to find a job. Beef up the resume, have an awesome cover letter, and throw it out to every job of interest.

Most of them call for Degree +2 years. I understand that it is competitive, but I just don't see any entry level jobs. i don't mind starting at the bottom, I just can't afford to work for free for a year or two. It doesn't help that craigslist is almost completely full of canvassing scams.

Those aren't necessarily scams. Grassroots Campaigns, PIRGS, Fund for the Public Interest--they all work you into the ground for little pay, but they do definitely pay. It's not the worst way to make a buck and get some experience.

They have all had bad PR in the past that makes me a little concerned about working for them. Grassroots has be criticized for not paying up, well some PIRGS have been charged with withholding payment if quotas are not met. There was even voter fraud for one PIRG. I just don't want to work in that kind of environment.

Yeah, I've worked in campaigns a little bit. I just don't have the time to work unpaid 40 hour a week internships anymore, and everything paid requires a couple of years of experience at least. So many nonprofits want you to work for free.

Where do you live? Go to your local county level democratic committee and ask if any of the local campaigns are looking for field organizers. You don't usually need any experience to get picked up to do field. They usually pay about as well as Grassroots Campaigns or PIRGs but at least they're kept somewhat honest by campaign finance filings.

Either way, are you gonna sit and whine on reddit about how you can't find a job, or go find yourself a job? GRC and PIRG are shit work, but that's what you have to do when you have NO experience in this economy. Do shit work for a bit, maybe you'll get fucked over a bit, but you'll have something on your resume. Complaining about there not being any jobs for people with no experience gets you nowhere, especially since there are definitely jobs (in our industry no less) which require little to no experience.

Except you do, and I have already talked to the people working the county democratic party. A field organizer job would also have a limited working time, which would leave me more than likely unemployed at the end of it.

Either way, are you gonna sit and whine on reddit about how you can't find a job, or go find yourself a job?

I am not whining, I am simply asking other people in the same field for advice. When every job requires 2+ years of experience, you start to wonder if the jobs that you are qualified are being posted elsewhere.

And I am not in a situation where any job will work, if I quit the job I have now, it has to be one that can pay me enough to live ( no unpaid internships) and doesn't expire like FO positions.

GRC and PIRG are shit work, but that's what you have to do when you have NO experience in this economy. Do shit work for a bit, maybe you'll get fucked over a bit, but you'll have something on your resume.

Fuck that, not everyone in the nonprofit started out working for GRC or PIRG. I am not going to spend 1 or 2 years of my life going to work at a miserable job everyday just for something to put on my resume, I would rather stay where I am at. What a sad mind set, I am not going to work for someone who is willing, and commonly does fuck over their employees.

Complaining about there not being any jobs for people with no experience gets you nowhere, especially since there are definitely jobs (in our industry no less) which require little to no experience.

I have 6 years of work experience and a B.A. I know there are jobs I am qualified for. I just felt like I wasn't looking in the right place.

The only thing that allows GRC and PIRG and anyone who offers full time unpaid internships to get away with what they do is because people are willing to let themselves be exploited just for the name on their resume. I have no interest in participating in that.

Of course field positions are temporary, campaigns end! You're not going to find anything with the attitude you're taking right now. Like it or not, it's a shitty economy, and there's well more qualified people than you applying for every entry level job you look at. You're looking for some magic answer, but there isn't one.

If you're willing to suck it up and do some shit work for a while (and hint, PIRG and GRC do pay, and there are other smaller paid canvass deals out there that usually pay better) to get SOMETHING on your resume, then you have something you can finesse into sounding relevant to a real NPO job. If not, then good luck searching for that magic position that requires no experience whatsoever outside of a degree, and also pays the 35-40k I'm assuming you want for an entry level job.

Obviously not everybody, and likely most people didn't get into this racket through campaigns and canvass and the like, but those people did a relevant internship, or had a more relevant field of study in college, or knew somebody at the organization already who got their foot in the door.

It's a tough fucking job market out there, it's not easy to survive. You've gotta be ready to adapt, and claw your way up, and work hard (most often thanklessly this early in your career) if you want to weather this shit storm and make it out the other side still intact. If you want to make the jump to working in NPOs, you've gotta get yourself some relevant experience, end of story. At your level of entry, those jobs suck. So you either take the shit job and suck it up, or wait (however long it takes) for the economy to come back around. Your choice.

And FYI, I got my start in campaigns doing field work. If you have a work ethic, and are smart about who you associate with, and how you spend your time, you can claw your way out of it two years. It goes Primary race (FO) => General (FO)=>offseason(collect unemployment, or look for a NPO job doing volunteer recruitment, or a union job working NGP VAN)=>by now you've met a lot of political characters, so you can rope yourself into either a fundraising or communications gig on a campaign so Primary race (FD/CD)=> General (Campaign Manager)=> now you've maxed out all of your campaign stats, as it were, and you move on. You have a well rounded skillset, two years of relevant experience, you've made some money, worked really hard, and made some connections. You're in the perfect position to move towards NPO jobs.

tl;dr - It's a shit economy, when they say 2+ years experience, they mean it. So work hard and get some experience fast, or keep doing whatever it is that you're doing.

I work in food service. It pays well and I don't hate it, but it will never get me anywhere career wise.

Of course field positions are temporary, campaigns end! You're not going to find anything with the attitude you're taking right now. Like it or not, it's a shitty economy, and there's well more qualified people than you applying for every entry level job you look at. You're looking for some magic answer, but there isn't one.

I'm not looking for a magic answer, I am looking for practical advice. I am sick of hearing about the economy. This is how the world is going to be from now on. The economy is not going to get any better and will most likely crash again in a few years. This self-defeating concept of " I'll just let myself get fucked because the economy is so poor" just empowers the owners in their race to the bottom.

I understand PIRG and GRC do pay, but there are countless accounts of how awful they are to work for, and how unwilling to pay they are a lot of the time. Shit, PIRG had employees committing voter fraud because they were so pressured.

I would be willing to work in campaigns, and I have in the past, I have done canvassing and voter registration. None of that has helped me.